Egypt bars activists from delivering Gaza aid

Cairo: Egyptian authorities have barred
activists from delivering aid to Gaza through Rafah crossing
despite opening it for an indefinite period to allow
humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory, an opposition
MP has claimed.

Egypt on June 1 decided to open the order after a raid
by Israeli commandos on an aid flotilla bound for Gaza, in
which nine peace activists were killed.

"Three convoys were recently barred entry into the
Gaza Strip via the Rafah crossing and the relief aid including
the foodstuffs were seized," Muhsin Radi, Member of the Muslim
Brotherhood Parliamentary Bloc at the Egyptian People`s
Assembly, said.

Radi and one of the participants in the convoy
dispatched by the professional associations loaded with relief
aid from the al-Qalyubiyah Governorate said that the decision
to open of the Rafah crossing was a pure media show which is
meaningless in practical terms.

Radi noted that they faced many problems as they were
heading with the convoy. They were stopped more than once and
as soon as they arrived in al-Arish, their convoys were
seized. The trucks were carrying 50 tons of relief aid and
three tons of medicines.

He said that the Egyptian authorities asked them to go
to the al-Awjah crossing, and this request made the organisers
more furious and they rejected to admit the relief aid via a
Israeli crossing.

He said that he refused to hand over the convoy to the
Zionist entity and declared a strike in front of the Rafah
crossing along with the delegations that were supportive of
the Gaza cause.

Radi pointed out that the Egyptian authorities
threatened them but they continued their strike and insisted
on breaking the siege that was clamped on the destroyed Gaza
Strip.

Opposition groups have accused Egyptian authorities
of complicity in the Israeli blockade and have demanded a
full, unrestricted opening of the border.

He noted that Egypt is duty-bound by history and
geography to help the 1.5 million encircled Palestinians in
the Gaza Strip.

Radi said he would table a question at the People`s
Assembly condemning the violations that have been committed
against the relief convoys dispatched to support the Gaza
people and against the lack of Egyptian sovereignty concerning
the continued opening of the crossing on permanent basis.